


Fairly Faerie

by AlphaMercy



Category: Borderlands
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fae Friend AU, M/M, Okay like im talking lile there will be at least two or three new fae u learn abt per chapter, There are lots of fae
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-29
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-11 00:37:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7017061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlphaMercy/pseuds/AlphaMercy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhys, thanks to an act of surprising selflessness when he was younger, was granted the status of Fae Friend, and is able to travel between the human world and theirs through certain portals. While not all of the rules apply to him, he still must be careful. Because friend or not, the Fae Realm is a dangerous place for a human to be.</p><p>So, of course, everything goes to shit after he finds himelf in love with someone he knows is fated to die.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Inrotduction

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to be as accurate as possible with the different types of fae you'll see in here, but if setting is off or you want to make know about a type of fae please tell me!
> 
> Also, Jack isn't in this chapter, idk if he'll be in the next either. Probably. We'll see.

_There was,_ he thought, _something to be said about the Fair Folk and their hospitality_ .   
  
He was sat lightly on a chair at the edge, watching as they spun and danced around the _green-purple-orange_ fire. They floated and giggled, offering him food and drink, to which he tried his hardest to politely decline. They did this every time   
  
Though it all smelled and looked amazing, he knew he could never have even the smallest of tastes.

Even after visiting for so long, the temptation would never fade, the pure _want_ for the food would always be there, sharper than any knife. So he tried his best to ignore it.   
  
While he loved their realm—loved the magic and wonder and people—he could never stay here. No, he could never give up his home in the city, the boring desk job, movie nights with his two best friends. There were too many things and people he'd leave behind that he couldn't live without no matter what the Folk gave him. But he loved them still.   
  
He sighed, shaking his head free of saddening thoughts, and stood up, stretching his body, flesh hand interlocking with his wooden one, arms reaching towards the tree tops, back arching and spine popping. He had been sitting for _much_ too long.   
  
"Oh Rhys," Sìlis crooned, "you look _so_ tired, have some ambrosia!"   
  
Rhys snorted and shook his head, "No thanks; _but_ I have some pop tarts if you wanna share?" He grinned at her, patting his pocket. It was a sort of ritual of theirs.   
  
Sìlis was his closest friend in the realm, besides Tambo, who wasn't here. And Sìlis absolutely _adored_ pop tarts, so he would bring a packet along, and share them with her.   
  
"Oh really? What kind what kind _what kind_ ?" She flitted forwards, wings fluttering excitedly behind her as she tried to slip her tiny clawed hands into his pockets.   
  
Rhys laughed, grabbing her wrists and gently pushing her away. She went with him even though easily able to overpower his limited human strength, but there was no fun in that.   
  
"Fudge Sunday. But if you keep grabbing for them, there won't be any pastries for the forest fairy. So chill, okay?"   
  
Sìlis pouted, thin arms crossed in mock-anger, "Fine fine you mean old human. Can. I. _Please._ Have. Some?"   
  
Rhys pulled a ziplock bag out, tossing it high up, and watched as delight flitted across the fairy's face, wings pushing her off the ground to chase after the human treat.   
He took his own out, munching on the brown sugar poptart, sighing in appreciation. He didn't like most of the flavors, brown sugar, s'mores and strawberry the extent of his palate. _Vaughn_ , on the other hand, loved the sickeningly sweet flavours, so they always had a supply Rhys could snatch some from for Sìlis and Tambol.   
  
As she floated to the ground slowly, munching on her own, Sìlis stared at him. Rhys shifted, wondering what she was thinking. She had a weird sort of gleam in her eye, one that probably didn’t bode well for Rhys.

“So, uh, Sìlis. It’s getting pretty late. I think I should probably head back. I might come back Later tomorrow, but only if work doesn’t call me in. Which is, y’know, pretty common. So. I’ll, uh, see you later!” Rhys blurted out, before turning and fast-walking to the edge of the party. Sìlis just laughed at him before fluttering off

There was a small break in the trees there, with a path leading off into the woods. It was a small thing, thin and poorly lit, barely discernable in the low light. It was also Rhys’ way home. He sighed; he _really_ hated this part.

The path home was _made_ specifically like it was, so that visitors in the Fair Realm had a good chance of wandering off the path. Which was one of the Golden Rules of the Realm. If you wandered off the path, you were trapped in the forest for as long as the Fae felt like. And the Fae so did love their entertainment. Even if they got bored fast as hell. So basically if you stepped even so much as a foot off of it, you were fucked, stuck in the forest, and forgotten after a few weeks; days if you were _lucky._

Rhys was proud to say that, even though the path changed every time someone walked it, he knew it better than most, even some fae(in his mind anyways, not like he could exactly _tell_ anyone about his jaunts through the Faerie Realm). There were markers along the path, small signs and landmarks that gave away how far or close he was to his goal. The Fae used them to help figure out how far their visitors had gone before getting lost (and to know who would win the betting pool). Rhys, after so long, had grown familiar with them, and didn’t need to concentrate to see them anymore. So, most of the time he was able to traverse the path without much worry or thought.

 _Man I’m gunna need to take a shower when I get back_ , he thought to himself as he passed the old toadstool that marked the halfway point. He gave a little scratch to it’s head, smiling when it wiggled appreciatively and gave out a quiet happy squeak. Rhys continued on after that, looking around the woods as he passed by lost in his thoughts.

There was the area of glowing moss off to the left, which marked the small grove of fig trees, in which lived the Asparas, or, as they were also called, the sky-dancers. He’d only ever glimpsed one before, as they usually didn’t show themselves to humans unless it was to bless them at an important stage of that human's life. The one Rhys had seen was sitting on a branch of what Rhys assumed was her tree, sings a soft lullaby to herself. She hadn’t seen him coming, and so he was able to just see her midnight-blue skin, and how it was speckled with spots that looked like little stars. Until he had stepped on a stick, and she flew off further into the trees. That was on one of his first ventures into the Realm, he had such fond, terrifying memories of that time.

The grove was quiet as he walked by, a gentle humming echoing from somewhere deeper inside. Maybe, if he was still visiting when he was old and grey, he would accidentally step off the path and see the rest of the Forest he had come to know over the years.

Rhys continued on, deep in thought on the topic, considering the possibilities of stepping off the path when he was much, _much_ older. It was...enthralling, he had to admit. The thought of seeing the far reaches of the Realm, that, as a human, he would _never_ get to see.

_Splish. Splishsplishsplish. Screff-scriff-screff-scriff-screff-scriff._

Rhys looked up, trying to place the familiar, and yet foreign sounds. There was the stream that cut the path in two, which meant he was also near his way home. But the stream was off, the usually clear water a muddy brown-red. He looked up and to the left, coming to a stop as he did. The was a pale woman there in a white sleeping gown on her knees, hunched over a small old-fashioned washing board. Her dark red hair was pulled over her shoulder in a braid, hanging just above the blood-stained vest she was washing. It was so bloody Rhys could barely tell the original colour, though he thought it might have been have been a brown, with thick clips running down one side. There was another, even bloodier garment next to her, with writing on it that Rhys couldn’t make out. The woman looked up, empty brown eyes staring at Rhys. He nodded politely at her, waiting until she looked back down and started washing again to move. Bean-Nighe creeped him out, but they were powerful in their own right, so he respected them and strove to never anger them.

Bean-Nighe were a cousin to the Banshee, but instead of wailing when someone was about to die, the haunted the streams and brooks of Scotland and Ireland, washing the clothes of those about to die. Rhys, for some reason or another, seemed to attract them like flies. If he didn’t see at least one before he left, then something was probably wrong. He had seen them since before he had gained access to the Realm; since he was little kid really.

He wondered who was going to die, as he always did. He pondered on what they were like; if they had a family, if they were nice or an ass, if they knew they were going to die soon, if they were going to be surprised. When it happened. He wondered if they were going to see the Bean-Nighe or if they were to blind to the world and would pass her over. Rhys would know who they were soon enough, he _always_ found out who the unlucky soul was in the end. The Washing Women were like that, giving him hints and clues. The clothes were usually a big piece, because it was something unique to that person. _Eh, no use worrying about it now,_ he thought, deciding to put if off for later.

Besides, his stop was coming up, as indicated by  the slight purple glow filtering through the trees. And also the little anthills the weaved in and out of the trees, running along the path. The Abatwa lived there, or some of them, at least. They were the tiniest creatures of human form in existence, who coexisted peacefully with the ants. Many existed side-by-side with the ants in the anthills of Southern Africa, foraging the roots of grasses and other plants. They were shy creatures, tending to be quite elusive; however they did sometimes reveal themselves to very young children and pregnant women. Rhys had only seen drawings and pictures of them, but he hoped to eventually see the small ones for himself.

He shook his head, what the hell was up with all the reminiscing and such? Usually he wasn’t so air-headed on the walk back. Whatever, he was there anyways, no point in berating himself, he was probably just tired.

The clearing Rhys had just stepped into held the source of the soft purple light. It was a small circle in the ground made of mushrooms, only four or so feet across. There was a purple vortex swirling slowly in the middle of it, emitting the light, and a low thrumming that made Rhys’ hair stand on end. It was a Fairy Ring. Most, in the human world at least, were harmless. There were ones all over the world that lead to different parts of the Fae Realm, and if you stumbled into one, you were pretty much Fucked. There was no way back for you.

Rhys was one of those lucky few who was granted immunity from that particular, law. But only if he wore the special necklace given to him, nae of leather from their Realm, and, as cliche as it was, a bit of fairy dust infused into the little metal charm of a stag. Rhys never took it off, no matter what.

Though, even as he gingerly walked into the Ring, he closed his eyes in nervousness. There was always a small part of him that worried it wouldn’t work, that he would be trapped forever more in the fairy world.

But, as usual, it was a baseless fear. The energy swirled up through him, making him laugh as it tingled its way around, before receding, leaving him in the middle of the woods on a Saturday morning.

He shook himself, glancing down at where his wooden arm used to be. He always hated leaving it, but there really wasn’t a way to keep it and say “hey my Fae friends let me keep this thing when I come back from their world so that way I can feel like a normal person and be able to do things without being disabled.” Yeah, cause  _that_ would go over  _so_ well.

Rhys sighed, and started off towards his car. _Just another day in the life of me._


	2. A Visit

“How was Sasha’s?” Vaughn asked as Rhys stepped in the door, looking up from his ECHO device.

“Hm? Oh, it was okay. Pretty boring, y’know, the usual. I got up pretty early to drive back, so I think I’m gunna hit the sack for a little bit,” Rhys replied, yawning as he finished his sentence.

“Sure, I’ll leave some food in the fridge if you’re not awake by lunch. I’m going out with August, I’m not sure when I’ll be back, probably by dinner though. Have a good nap, bro.”

“Cool, thanks. You have fun with August, stay out as late as you want dude, I  _ can _ cook, despite what you might think. I’ll see you later bro.” Rhys waved to his friend, and wandered off to his room.

It wasn’t terribly big, as the apartment he and Vaughn shared was a two-bedroom one-bath place with a tiny kitchen and a living room that took up most of the space. But it was home, with his tacky Hyperion motivation posters, the occasional Handsome Jack picture, and the various music and Disney posters taped to the walls. And, of course the enclosures for his two beautiful snakes, Libra, and Glitter.

Libra was his second snake, a nicely patterned banana morph ball python who had the diet of a bird. Rhys loved him,. But he was honestly so picky with his food and Rhys absolutely  _ hated _ leaving him when it was close to feeding day. He constantly checked the snakes weight and length, and while Libra  _ was _ growing in length, he was always going up and down on the scale. It worried Rhys, though the vet assured him that as long as he wasn’t constantly losing weight, then the snake was fine. Rhys had only had the ball python for two years, though the snake was actually four. Rhys’ friend Yvette had told him about this poor malnourished snake her friends roommate had been keeping, and couldn’t take care of properly. When Rhys had heard that, he had demanded the person’s number and, well, practically bullied them into giving Rhys the snake. Libra being such a picky eater was the result of that.

Glitter on the other hand...well that was Rhys’ first snake. A  beautiful blizzard  morph corn snake, who, when Rhys had just gotten her at the tender age of 17, had knocked over a can of glitter when Rhys had set her down on the dining room table. His sister Sasha had been doing a project or something, and had yelled  _ “Glitter!” _ in frustration. And thus, the name stuck. She was eight years old, and also the best behaved of the two snakes. Rhys could probably hand her off to a random person pulled off the street and she’d barely flick her tongue in protest. Rhys let her have the most free roam time since she was so good. And, when the summertime came around and the temp hit the 70s/80s, he would bring her outside. Sometimes he’d take her with him to the Fae Realm where the different Folk would coo at and spoil her. There was one memorable time Rhys had visited, and one of the Fae there, a Naga, had told Rhys that Glitter, while confused by her name, was exceptionally happy with Rhys and wouldn’t have it anyother way. Rhys had cried a bit when he had reached his car after the night was out.

Naga were a curious Fae, and Rhys had only run into a few of them over his almost ten years of visiting the Realm. They were human from the waist up and snake from the waist down. Oftentimes they let themselves be seen wearing hooded canopies or with seven (or more) heads. They were also extraordinarily beautiful (Rhys could attest to _that_ ). They tended to bite humans who were evil or destined to die prematurely. But if you weren’t on either of those lists, they were pretty amiable, and they liked to have baking competitions (any type of competition really) with the Nymphs that lived near their rivers. Their tails hurt like a bitch though. That poor Naga had thought he killed Rhys at first. 

Rhys shook his head and slipped out of his clothes, tossing his shirt and pants off towards his door. He stood there, now in just his boxer-briefs and socks, and just surveyed his room. It was frickin’ messy, and it looked like Libra needed a water change. He’d do that when he got up. Rhys turned off the lights and crawled into bed, sighing as his head hit the pillow.

_ Wait...fuck i forgot...to...shower… _

* * *

Rhys woke with a start, a ringing in his ears. Jesus, what the hell kind of dream did he have that his ears were  _ still  _ ringing... _ oh shit that was his home phone! _

Rhys scrambled out of his bed, falling to the floor heavily as he did so. “Fuck fuck fuck!”

Rhys hastily untangled himself, one sheet still wrapped around a leg as he stumbled into the livingroom, and across to the table where the phone sat. He fumbled with it for a few seconds, finally hitting the  _ answer _ button and holding it up to his ear.

“Uh, hi, hello!”

“R-Rhys?”

“Yvette? What’s wrong?”

“You—you need to get to the hospital, quick, ok-ay?” Her voice broke on the last word, and she sniffled.

“Yvette, why? What happened?”

“Vaughn and August got into an accident. The doctors say they’ll both be fine, but Vaughn just looks so-s-” she broke off into muffled sobs.

“I’ll be there, quick, okay? Give me five minutes to get dressed and I’ll be  _ right _ over,” he said, voice soothing but mind racing. Both Vaughn and August were pretty good drivers, and neither had been in an accident in years as far as Rhys knew. Hopefully whatever happened, it wasn’t terrible.

Yvette gave a deep sigh, trying to give herself some false calm. Her brow would be pinched, mouth downturned and bottom lip worried between white teeth. “Okay. Just—god, be careful okay Rhys?”

“I will, I promise. Stay safe yourself. Don’t stray too far, I’ll be there soon.” Rhys waited until Yvette clicked off, and dropped the phone, scrambling back to his room to get dressed frantically, grabbing his pants and shirt from yesterday, not really caring. There was a leaf caught in a belt loop and dirt on the knees. They would do.

He gave a small wave and shout towards his snakes, and rushed out, grabbing his ECHO from the kitchen and slipping into his boots. He grabbed the keys and was off, barely closing the door to the jeep as he peeled out of the drive. 

The hospital was only a ten minute ride away, but Rhys made it in four. Somehow there was an open spot near the entrance, and he pulled in, wheels haphazard and car cockeyed. He didn’t care. 

The blast of cool air was a shock to the system, the sweat on his skin cooling and making him shiver as he approached the nurses desk.

“Excuse me, can you tell me what rooms Vaughn Huston and August Czerzny are in? They were in a car accident today. I’m one of Vaughns emergency contacts, Rhys Isley.” His hand was shaking, fingers tapping away at the smooth wood of the desk top. The nurse nodded and pecked at the keyboard with short digits. It felt like an eternity in those few seconds.

“Here we go. Room three-oh-four point five-two. Third floor. Visiting hours end at nine pm. Please sign in here.” They pushed a clipboard towards Rhys. He signed quickly and was off, dodging around people left and right, slipping through the elevator doors.The ride up was awkward and quiet, Rhys running his hand over the tattoo on the side of his neck over and over. The door finally  _ dinged _ open and Rhys let the other person go first, a shorter masculine figure with grey hair. Rhys walked out after them, taking a left. He hadn’t been on this floor in a good ten years, so the layout was hazy. He was pretty certain that the room was this way, so he kept on down the hall, glancing at the numbers occasionally. They seemed to go up, but Rhys honestly couldn’t tell. And after five minutes, he realized he was lost. So lost and distracted in fact, that he ran right into someone’s back and fell onto his ass.

“The hell?”

Rhys blinked stupidly up at the man, brown hair in a disarray. “Uh. Sorry. I’m—I can’t find the room I’m looking for. Are you okay?” He pushed himself up slowly.

“Yeah  yeah. Just watch where you’re frickin’ goin’ kid. What room are you lookin’ for?”

“Uhhh, 304? I think? Point….um, shit. Five something.”

“Language. You need to head down the hall, take the first left, then another right past the nurses desk. It’s just bit beyond that.”

“Thanks!” With that, Rhys rushed off to find his friends.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so Sìlis is a Gaelic-Scottish name, and Tambo is Swahili meaning vigorous. I got them from [this site](http://fantasynamegenerators.com/#realNames) which I've heard really good things about. If they're wrong though, or fake/etc, please let me know!  
> Also updates are going to be a lot more spread out than my other fic Constant, probably every week or so since the chapters are longer and this is much more in-depth.
> 
>  
> 
> [my tumblr](http://handsomejackisback.%20tumblr.com)


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